New powers to stop campaigners intimidating abortion-clinic patients considered by Government

More than 110 MPs wrote to the Home Secretary urging her to consider ‘buffer zones’ around clinics, banning praying, silent vigils and brandishing of pictures of foetuses

Lizzy Buchan Political Correspondent
Nov 26, 2017

New powers are being considered to protect women seeking abortions from intimidation and harassment by demonstrators outside clinics, Amber Rudd has announced.

Anti-abortion campaigners have been known to confront women outside family planning facilities with pictures of foetuses and to host “abortion vigils” where they pray for people to change their minds on seeking a termination.

Labour leader is among 113 MPs who signed letter to home secretary calling for action to protect women from anti-abortion protesters

Jessica Elgot Political reporter
Thursday 26 October 2017

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has backed calls for clinics to have a buffer zone to protect women from persistent anti-abortion protesters, in a letter from 113 MPs from parties across the House of Commons.

The letter to the home secretary, Amber Rudd, which is also signed by the Liberal Democrat leader, Vince Cable, the Green party co-leader, Caroline Lucas, and the SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, says women “face daily abuse when undergoing terminations”.

In addition to helping pass abortion restrictions at the state level, anti-choice activists are challenging those laws that do protect clinics and patients.

Restrictions on abortion rights and access are not limited to the variety pack of legislation advanced by anti-choice lawmakers year after year. In their attempts to obstruct patient access to providers and clinics, the anti-choice movement has gone on the offense at the local and state level. Not only do clinics often have to adhere to arbitrary standards primarily enacted to make it more difficult to provide care; the laws set up to protect their care, and their patients, are under attack.